Mouth-watering, juicy and crispy honey sesame chicken bites that STAY CRISPY FOR HOURS!
The trick is to get the honey sesame glaze just right so that it doesn't soften the crispy chicken (no soggy chicken here!). Of course, the crispy batter is equally important to get right. Great news, I've got you covered ;).
This savoury, sweet and tangy 30-minute crispy fried chicken recipe will definitely be a hit and are absolutely addictive (you've been warned)!
Love the sound of this? Also check out the spicy version; crispy honey chilli chicken and my ultra crunchy, finger-licking, crispy honey pepper chicken wings!
Ingredients
- Icy cold soda water - very important! The keywords here are 'icy cold' so keep the soda water in the fridge and only take it out when you're ready to deep fry. The icy cold bubbly water is the trick to getting the chicken coating light and crispy!
- Shaoxing wine - a very common Chinese cooking condiment that adds complexity and depth to a dish (from stir-fries to dumplings and even soups like my Chinese pork bone soup!)
- Deep frying oil - opt for neutral-tasting oils with high smoking point such as sunflower, canola, vegetable and grapeseed oils. The amount to use will depend on the size of the pot you use (or fryer). Roughly, I like to fill the pot up to about halfway with oil for deep frying.
- Lemon juice - adds a tangy and zesty touch that perfectly complements and balances out the sweetness of the honey. Substitute: rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Garlic powder - can use fresh garlic cloves instead, use about 3 cloves, minced.
Cooking instructions
To make this crispy, better-than-takeout Chinese honey sesame chicken, there are 3 core steps to follow:
- Season the chicken & coat
- Deep fry
- Coat with honey sesame sauce
The most important thing to keep in mind when making this dish is to get the order and timing right.
The great news is that it all takes just 30 minutes from start to finish!
So let's get into it.
Season the chicken then coat
To start, cut chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes. About a 3cm (just over 1 inch) cube is a good size. Smaller than this can increase the risk of the chicken drying out a little.
To season the chicken, in a large bowl, combine chicken, soy sauce, shaoxing wine, garlic powder, salt and white pepper. Mix well until combined.
There is no need to let the chicken marinate.
Then, add cornflour (corn starch) in a separate large bow. Coat the seasoned chicken with cornflour in batches of 3 or 4.
Make sure to coat each piece generously and all over.
Set coated chicken aside, on a plate or in a bowl. Discard excess cornflour.
Coating the chicken with cornflour helps the batter stick onto the chicken just before deep frying.
Deep fry until golden
When you're ready to deep fry the chicken, make the bubbly and light batter.
In a large mixing bowl, add plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and white pepper. Mix until just combined with a whisk. About 5 seconds will do.
Then, pour icy cold soda water straight from the fridge into the flour mixture. Quickly whisk for about 20 seconds.
The batter should be very thin and bubbly. You may see tiny clumps at the bottom, don't worry about those, they won't impact the finished dish at all.
To deep fry, using a pair of tongs (or chopsticks if you're hardcore), dip a piece of cornflour-coated chicken into the thin batter then immediately drop it into hot frying oil.
It's important to make the batter immediately before deep frying as you want the batter to be icy cold and bubbly. This is the ultimate trick to crispy fried chicken!
Repeat until you've added about half of the chicken into the fryer or a third, depending on the size of your pot. The key is to not overcrowd the fryer so that the oil stays really hot.
Deep fry the chicken for about 2-3 minutes over high heat or until golden, crispy and just cooked.
Repeat until all of the chicken has been fried.
In between batches, I recommend scooping out those loose crispy batter bits in the frying oil.
Start each batch relatively 'clean' so you won't have any potential burnt bits attached to the second or third batch of chicken.
Look at how crispy and yummy those fried chicken bites look!
If you just stop right here, you'll have a mounting plate of chicken goodness - juicy and crispy.
But we want those fancy Chinese restaurant-quality honey sesame chicken. So we continue.
Coat with honey sesame sauce
To make the honey sesame glaze (or sauce), lightly toast sesame seeds in a large non-stick wok or frying pan. This will only take about 2 minutes over low heat.
Avoid toasting the sesame seeds over high heat as they can burn quickly if you're not careful! You'll have better control using low heat.
Then, add honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and salt. Mix well with a spatula.
Bring the sauce up to a bubbling boil over medium heat then immediately turn the heat to low.
Reduce the sauce to a thick consistency whilst mixing constantly, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, turn the heat off.
Mixing the sauce whilst reducing will prevent the honey from burning at the bottom.
Finally, add fried chicken bites into the wok of yummy honey sesame glaze.
Toss the chicken well using the spatula with the glaze until every single piece has transformed into mouth-watering honey sesame chicken bites!
Warning: avoid touching the honey sesame glaze with your barehand once it starts bubbling - they'll be too hot to touch!
You'll find that even after being coated with this yummy sweet, zesty and umami glaze, the chicken will still be crispy.
Better yet, it'll stay crispy for hours!
As such, this dish is perfect to make when you're entertaining and have guests over. Make these an hour in advance and they'll still be great by the time everyone arrives.
If feeding a crowd, you can consider also making a batch of the spicy version of this honey chicken for variety!
Useful tips and tricks
- Deep fry the chicken batches. Overcrowding or adding too much chicken into the fryer at once will lower the temperature of the oil. This means the chicken will take longer to crisp up and turn golden. As a result, the chicken can end up a little dry - which would be a shame!
- Let the chicken deep fry undisturbed in the first 1 minute before separating - there is a high chance that the chicken pieces will stick together whilst frying. Don't worry, they come apart really easily. First, let the coating form/harden then gently separate each piece apart using chopsticks or tongs.
- Make sure the frying oil is very hot before adding chicken - there are a few different ways to test if the oil is hot enough:
- Candy thermometer (aka deep-frying thermometer) method. Get the oil to about 180°C (360°F).
- Chopsticks method. Dip the tip of a wooden (must be wooden) chopstick into the hot oil over high heat. If the tip sizzles immediately then the oil is hot enough.
- In the absence of both of the above, drop a couple of drops of the batter into the hot oil. If it fizzles immediately at the top that means the oil is hot enough.
- Only make the honey sesame glaze at the very end (ie, not suitable to be made in advance). Once the glaze starts to cool down, it'll harden and will become impossible to coat the chicken with. So only make this at the very end!
FAQs
A well-balanced combination of honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and salt with a sprinkle of sesame seeds! This recipe makes a honey chicken sauce that does not soggy up the chicken!
Alas no! 🙂 It's a Westernised Chinese dish. Nonetheless, it's a popular Chinese restaurant staple across Australia (and perhaps other Western countries)!
Anything you want! Because it is a rich dish, I like balancing it with something light and wholesome like a quick 20-minute bok choy soup. Otherwise, continue on the flavour town path and pair it with my 15-minute Cantonese soy sauce chow mein!
Leftovers and storage
On the off chance of leftovers, store them in air-tight containers for up to 4 days in the fridge. The chicken coating will inevitably soften but all of the flavours will still be there!
Made this recipe? Let me know your thoughts or questions by dropping a note in the comments section below!
I'd love to hear from you. 🙂
📖 Recipe
Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 cup cornflour aka cornstarch
- deep frying oil eg. sunflower, canola, grapeseed or vegetable oil
Chicken seasoning
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Crispy batter
- ½ cup plain flour
- ¼ cup cornflour aka cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup (8 floz) soda water (250ml), icy cold (straight from the fridge)
Honey sesame sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat deep frying oil in a large pot or fryer over high heat.
Season and coat chicken
- In a large bowl, combine chicken breasts with chicken seasoning and mix well.
- In a separate large bowl, add cornflour. With a pair of tongs, coat chicken pieces with the cornflour in batches of 2 or 3. Place coated chicken into a separate bowl or plate. Discard excess cornflour once finished coating the chicken.
Make the batter (only start this when ready to deep fry)
- In a large mixing bowl, add all crispy batter ingredients except the soda water. Mix with a whisk until combined (~5 seconds). Add icy cold soda water and whisk for about 20 seconds. The batter should be runny, bubbly and don't worry if there are tiny clumps (it won't matter).
Deep fry
- Using a pair of tongs, pick up 1 piece of cornflour-coated chicken and dip it into the icy cold thin batter then immediately add it into hot frying oil. Repeat until about ½ of the chicken has been added to the oil (note 1).
- Deep fry for about 2 to 3 minutes over high heat or until golden and crispy (note 2). Transfer crispy chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat for the remaining half of the chicken.
Coat with honey sesame sauce
- In a large non-stick wok or frying pan, lightly toast sesame seeds over medium-low heat for about 1 -2 minutes or until it starts to turn lightly golden.
- Add remaining honey sesame sauce ingredients. Mix well with a spatula then increase the heat to medium until the sauce starts to bubble then reduce the heat to low. Constantly mix until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency. About 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat off.
- Add all of the fried crispy chicken bites into the thick sauce. Toss well until each piece is well coated. Transfer onto a serving plate.
Notes
- Candy thermometer (aka deep-frying thermometer) method. Get the oil to about 180°C (360°F).
- Chopsticks method. Dip the tip of a wooden (must be wooden) chopstick into the hot oil over high heat. If the tip sizzles immediately then the oil is hot enough.
- In the absence of both of the above, drop a couple of drops of the batter into the hot oil. If it fizzles immediately at the top that means the oil is hot enough.
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